Drop-door structure for cars.



F. w. BRADLEY, uDROP DOOR STRU GTURB oR GARS. APPLICATION FI LED MAR. 4, 1908.

Patented Mar.9,19o9.

P; w. BRADLE'Y. DROP DOOR STRUCTURE POB CARS.

Patented Mar. 9, 1909.

A 2 SHBBTS`SHEET 2. Tg: E

rafrnnr ernten FRANCISv W. BRADLEY, OF MCKEES ROGKS,4 PENNSYLVANIA.

' DROP-DOOR STRUCTURE FOR CARS.

no. elenco.

To all whomit may concern:

Be it known that l, FRANCIS W. BRADLEY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and 4improved Drop-Door Structure for Cars, of which the' following is a full, clear,

.4 and exact description.

My invention relates to cars and analogous Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed March 4, 1908.` Serial No. 419,181.

vehicles, my more particular object being to proride a car'body with Swingin(r doors, so constructed and operated that unler certain conditions, when'. closed, the doors are by their own weight and bythe weight of'materials resting upon them, forced toward each other and thus prevented from opening, said doors beinCf locked in this position to prevent their rece ing from each other in order to o en, and also being locked independently o their pressure against each other.

My invention further relates to means whereby the doors can be so manipulated as to readily precipitate materials resting upon also whereby the doors may' be readil retracted to normal position.

Reterence is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference lirniicate corresponding parts in all the iigures.

" the same,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a complete ear equipped with my improved drop doors and means for actuating the same; Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical cross section upon the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, looking inthe direction of the arrows and showing one of the upper shafts together with the spiral winch mounted thereupon and supporting depending chains and other parts for raising the doors into normal position, this view further showing one of the lower shafts and parts connected therewith for drawingthe doors edgewise toward'each other, in order to cause them to jam each other endwise and thus increase the ditliculty of their lopening accid dentally; Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevation of the car, showing certain parts appearing in of drop doors and mechanism for actuating the doors in this instance being closed and occu ying their normal positions; jFig. a is a side elevation similar to iig. 3, but showing -fthe doors as swung downs ard or open; Fig. 5y is a fragmentary vertical section upon the line 5-5 ofgFig. 2, looking in the direction ofthe arrows, and showin? certain Fig. l, including one p air- Patented March 9, 190e.

details relating to the locking mechanism for holding the doors in such position that their, adjacent edges abut each othenso as to cause the doors to jam; and Fig. 6 is an enlargedv fragmentary section upon the line 6-6 of Fig. 3, looking in the direction ofthe arrows, and showin certain details of one of the lockingmec anisms.

The car body is shown -at 7 and is mounted upon trucks 8.

At 9 are hoppers which depend below the car body.

Drop doors are shown at 10, and mounted rigidly upon them are arms 11, each having a substantially U-shaped cross section. old ing clamps 12, provided. with hinges .13, are mounted upon these arms 11 and are provided with screw bolts 12a for purposes of adjustment. Links 14 are pivotally connected with the clamps 12 and are disposed in pairs, each )air being pivotally connoc by a `lifting har 15. =Chains 16 are, conF nected with this bar and with a central lifting chain 1 7.

Brackets 18, 18, arranged in pairs, are mounted upon cach ho per 9, the brackets being severally provided with slots 19 through which extend rods 20. Levers 21, also arranged in pairs, are pivotally mounted upon rods 22, the latter being supported in bearings 23. The levers 21 are pivotally connected together, and secured to them is a clevis 24 which engages a link 25 of arcuate forni, which is provided witha slot26 through which the clevis extends.

Lcd

Brackets 27 are mounted uion the hopv pers 9.

latter being mounted rigidly upon a shaft 29, this shaft being provided with an angular ortion 29l1 whereby it may be turned by aid of a socket wrench or key. A disk 30 is mounted rigidly upon the shaft 29 and is pro vided 1)Vith a notch 31. A awl 32 rests loosely upon the disk 30 am is adapted to partially enter the notch 81 so as to prevent backward no ation of the shaft 29.- Bearing `plates 2% engage thc y shafts 29 and serve to support the same,- said bearing plates having ,a backing'plate 29C. A

A weight 33, having substantially the form of an L, is pivotally ,mounted above each pawl 32 and may be i hed by hand so as to ook this pawl rigidlyivitlgin the notch 31;"v 'lhe pawl 32 is 1euro led within a bean 'brackets 35 which. may be rocked by hand 3Q into engagement so as to press the pawls 8S, or to disengage with the toothed wheels the same, as desired.

Plates 41 arranged in pairs, each )air having generally the form of an inverted V, are mounted within the car body and serve as partitions. Collar beams 42, 43,144 are mounted upon the under side of the car body and serve as bearings for the shafts 36. These shafts are connected rigidly with spiral Winches upon which the chains 1,7 are partially wound, as will be understood from Fig. 2.

In the particular car shown there are four hoppers, there being two across the car and two lengthwise of the car. Each hopper has its own pair of doors, and several dors are thus operated by a single rocking shaft 3o.

The operation of my device is as follo\ s: Assume that the hoppers at one end of t 'ie car have been delivered of their contents, and that consequently in each hopper 'f affected the doors 10 and other parts occu )y the positions indicated in Fig. 4. The shai'ts 2O are now free to move slightly within the slots 19. In order to close the doors 10 the operator, by aid'of an appropriate Wrench or key, turns the angular end 37, thereby turning the shaft 36. The pawl 39 prevents backward rotation of the toothed wheel 33. The chains 17 are thus wound up (see Fig. 2) and the doors 10 are brought into their. ippermost position, as indicated in Fig. c o erator next turns the angular' end 2t L in a c ockwise direction, according to Fig. 4.

-The arm 28 and link 25 are thus raised, the

olevis 24 turning up th` adj acont ends ofthe levers 2]. The shafts 2() being free to move slightly within the slots 19, the doors 10 are now forced edge to edge toward cach other with considerable pressure, so as to cause them to press upwardly, as indicated in Fig. 3, the pawl 32 engaging the notch 31 so as to )revent backward rotation ol' the disk 30.

he rocking Weight-33 is new turned so as to hold the iawl 32 lirmly in position. This grips the evers 21 tightly in such position that they exert a constant pressure against the outer ends ol the doors 10, so that the doors are utterly unable to opcn; The rocking weight 4() causing the pawl 3S) to lock the Wheel 38 against backward rotation, as above described, the doors are also firmly pressed upward by the tension ol' the chains vent said doors lromopcning, .locking said mechanism so as to prevent said sults in s :tekening thc tension of the chains 17. The doors l0"`readily open by virtue of their own weight, together with the weight ol' any materials resting' upon them.

Having thus described my invention, I claim-as new and desire to .secure by Letters Patent:

l. Thecombination ol a receptacle provided with an open bottom, swinging' doors i'or closing said bottom, mechanism controllable by a rcvolublc slal't l'or forcingl said doorsagainstxsaid bottom in order to premcans l'or doors from opening` accidentally, levers connected with said doors l'or forcing the same toward each other edge to edge and thus further preventing said doors from opening, and mechanism controllable at will for securing said levers in. a predetermined position.

2. The combination of a receptacle pro vided with an open bottom, doors journaled upon opposite sides ol' said bottom' and adapted to swing toward cach other and with their adj acentedges in contact and in a higher plz` 'c than their remote edges for the vpurpose of closing said bottom, levers connected with said doors and adapted-to force the latter toward each other so as to cause said doors to Wedge together edge to edge in order to prevent said doors from opening, means controllable at will for actuating said levers, and mechanism for locking said levers A, in a predetermined position inorder to pre! vent said doors from opening.

3.- The combinatio'n a car body provided with an open lgotto'ln, doors journaled upon opposite sides of said bottom and adapted to swing toward each other and with their adliacent edges in contact and -in a higherI p ane than their remote. edges for the purpose of closing said bottom, a number of separate'levers connected with said doors, means controllable at will for actuating all of said levers so as to close a plurality of said doors, and mechanism vfor locking said levers inpredetermined positions so as toprevent said doors from o ening.

4. The combination o a car body provided with an open betteln, doors journaled upon said car body and adapted to swing, said doors being provided with edges adapted to rest against each other when said doors vl-inst.. L

are closed and in a higher piane than'the re- In testimony whereof l have signed my mote edges, means for forcing said doors neme to this specification in the presence of toward each other so es to cause the edge of two subscribing witnesses.

one door to bind against the edge of another FRANCIS W. BRADLEY. in order to prevent said doors from opening7 Witnesses:

and in eans for moving said doors apart in FRANK HEIRDNER,

order to permit them to swing open. W. T. WILSON, 

